Brief Structured Team Reflection Embedded in Elite Underwater Rugby Training: a 12-week Longitudinal Evaluation of Cohesion, Psychological Safety, Peer Trust, and Team Identification

What this Trial Is About

This research investigates whether a brief, structured team reflection program added to regular elite underwater rugby training can influence key psychosocial aspects such as team cohesion, psychological safety, peer trust, and team identification over six weeks. The study measures these factors at three points: before the program starts, halfway through, and at the end of the intervention. The program focuses on supporting social and psychological dynamics within the team environment. The intervention consists of 16 short reflection sessions embedded twice weekly immediately after regular training sessions over six weeks. These sessions include various components like checking in on internal states, recognizing specific contributions, reflecting on team functioning, reinforcing collective identity, and controlled vulnerability, all following a "share-only" rule to protect psychological safety. Facilitation is shared between staff and athlete leaders, with logs tracking attendance, session details, and adherence to the reflection rules. Participants continue their usual elite underwater rugby training throughout the study. Participants will complete validated questionnaires at baseline, mid-intervention, and post-intervention to assess psychosocial outcomes. The study records training attendance and any injury or illness descriptively but does not collect objective sports performance data. The total study duration for each participant is six weeks, during which their participation in the reflection sessions and routine training is closely monitored to understand changes in team dynamics.

Brief Structured Team Reflection Embedded in Elite Underwater Rugby Training